Novig completes sweepstakes-to-prediction market transition with 'sports trading app' Updated on August 7, 2026 Poker & iGaming Expert One-time sweepstakes sportsbook Novig has completed its transition into a prediction market. Novig launched its prediction market nearly nationwide on Tuesday, eschewing a select few states that have been particularly unfriendly to the burgeoning vertical. "We believed sports betting should work like any real financial market: a true order book where traders set the prices, with no house," he wrote. "Federal regulation was always the destination, even when it was the longer, harder road. It's surreal to actually be here. "We're launching with instant live trading, a full portfolio view, new payment methods, parlays, and Novig Ranks - our new leaderboard for trading PNL, Novig Points, and volume." Ironically, Novig began with an exchange-style sportsbook before switching to the sweepstakes model. Now, it has come almost full circle with its new reinvention as a prediction market. The prediction market model may actually make for a better fit with Novig's original vision, matching bettors with a peer who will take the other side of the bet. This so-called exchange model is more popular in Europe, where operators like Betfair have sustained success, but failed to gain traction in regulated U.S. markets before the arrival of prediction markets. Competing against sports betting giants DraftKings and FanDuel, Novig faced a tough path to profitability. The prediction market race appears more wide open. While Kalshi has a big early lead, upstarts like Underdog have gained traction, as bigger names like DraftKings and FanDuel have struggled with the vertical. Sweepstakes model burned brightly, faded away. Novig's abandonment of sweepstakes marks a continuation of the industry's trend away from that particular model. The sweepstakes model revolved around the purchase of in-game "free play" currency, followed by the operator awarding the player with matching site credit. That credit could then be exchanged back for real money when the player wanted to cash out. As the legislative expansion of regulated iGaming stalled out in the early 2020s, sweepstakes gambling swept the nation. Many companies saw it as an easy way to gain access to states that were off-limits for real-money gaming. Its status in a legal gray area offered clear advantages in taxes and speed - there was no need to wait for state-by-state regulatory approval. Sweepstakes operators could also serve key states like Texas and California, ones with massive populations but no legal online gambling framework. Of course, when state regulators began catching wind of what was going on, the crackdown began. Some states quickly outlawed sweepstakes gambling, while others sent cease-and-desist letters. The bans are still coming down the pike, with Minnesota the latest state to boot the sweepstakes sites. As the addressable market for sweepstakes shrank, operators like Novig saw prediction markets as the next frontier. Novig aggressive right away on the litigation front. Novig's marketing materials on its website claim that it's available nationwide. However, outside reporting indicates that Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona are all geofenced. Each has been among the most aggressive states in pushing back against prediction markets. A federal judge already ordered another prediction market, Kalshi, to geoblock Michigan customers by Aug. 12. Arizona broke new legal ground by filing criminal charges against Kalshi. And Nevada was the first state to win a court victory with a geofencing order against prediction markets. Still, that by no means indicates Novig is entering the prediction market game cautiously. It's actually come out guns blazing in the legal sense. Novig has already filed lawsuits against both New York and Massachusetts, asking for injunctive relief. The lawsuits are similarly worded and argue that Novig would suffer irreparable harm without the relief sought, and that state law is preempted by federal regulations, thereby allowing Novig to operate in these states. Novig and Underdog skip 'financial instruments' cover story. What's perhaps most fascinating about Novig's entry into the prediction game is its lack of pretense. Prediction frontrunners Kalshi and Polymarket are insistent on their utility as financial hedging platforms. To that end, they offer a robust selection of markets revolving around weather, culture, politics, and business, even if most of their trading volume is on sports. By contrast, Novig is unambiguously a sportsbook. Here's a look at some of its marketing material: * "America's #1 sports trading app" * "Where America predicts sports" * "The leading sports prediction market in the U.S." Kalshi frequently points to its non-sports markets as proof that it isn't a sportsbook dressed up as a financial instrument. It works hard to promote its non-sports volume as a growing part of its business. One wonders whether executives at Kalshi are giving these upstart competitors a withering side-eye, more so in a public relations sense than a financial one. Will regulators and lawmakers draw any distinction between sports-only prediction markets and operators like Kalshi and Polymarket? Products like Novig seem likely to generate nothing but bad PR for the industry, the rest of which is trying (mostly in vain) to distinguish itself from sports betting. Poker & iGaming Expert Mo Nuwwarah is a gambling industry writer with extensive experience covering poker and sports betting, while also exploring the emerging prediction market verticals. He has more than a decade of experience in the industry after graduating from journalism school in 2011. Players trust its reporting due to its commitment to unbiased and professional evaluations of the iGaming sector. Gaming America track hundreds of platforms and industry updates daily to ensure its news feed and leaderboards reflect the most recent market shifts. With nearly two decades of experience within iGaming, its team provides a wealth of expert knowledge. This long-standing expertise enables Gaming America to deliver thorough, reliable news and guidance to its readers.

Novig filed a federal lawsuit against New York regulators one day after launching its prediction markets in 47 states. The platform seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent Attorney General Letitia James and the New York State Gaming Commission from interfering with its sports event contracts. New York has sued several prediction market operators, including Kalshi and Coinbase Financial Markets, alleging they operate illegal gambling platforms. State officials aim to restrict prediction market sites that launched through Commodity Futures Trading Commission approval without state licensure. Novig argues its federally regulated event contracts differ from traditional sports betting. The company previously operated as a state-licensed sportsbook in Colorado before transitioning to sweepstakes and then prediction markets, offering exclusively sports markets.

Novig launches nationwide sports prediction market. 4 August 2026 (PRESS RELEASE) -Novig today announced the nationwide launch of its federally regulated sports prediction market, following its designation from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Designated Contract Market (DCM). The nationwide launch introduces new enhancements designed to further elevate Novig's best-in-class sports trading experience. The platform now features instant live trading, deeper liquidity, stronger market quality, and expanded payment options, giving users a faster, more seamless, and more efficient way to participate in sports markets. With its federally regulated platform, Novig will operate with enhanced safeguards designed to promote market integrity and responsible participation at scale. These include enhanced market surveillance, protections against manipulation and insider activity, and comprehensive compliance standards designed to protect participants. Novig is also the only prediction market that maintains a 21+ age requirement, reflecting the company's commitment to building a responsible platform as it scales. "For too long, sports fans have had limited ways to engage with the markets they know best. They are among the most passionate and informed communities in the world, yet they've never had a platform truly built around how they think, engage, and trade," said Jacob Fortinsky, co-founder and CEO of Novig. "We built Novig to change that, not only by creating the best place to trade sports, but by setting the standard for what a modern sports prediction market should be. That has meant building with trust, transparency, and responsible participation at the center, including maintaining a 21+ age requirement and investing in the compliance, market surveillance, and safeguards needed to scale responsibly. This launch is a major step toward bringing that vision to more users than ever before." Novig has already surpassed $6 billion in cumulative trading volume, making it America's fastest-growing sports prediction market. With nationwide availability, the company expects to accelerate adoption among sports fans while continuing to build the most liquid and efficient sports prediction market.